AN EYEWITNESS who saw Liverpool teenager Andrew Jones murdered in an unsolved one-punch attack today warned the gang accused of shielding the killer’s identity: “Your silence will come back to haunt you”.

Former taxi driver Mark Byrne, 47, watched on as Andrew Jones’ attacker delivered the devastating blow that led to him fatally cracking his head on the pavement on Hanover Street in 2003.

On the tenth anniversary of the Everton fan’s city centre murder, Mr Byrne spoke out against the gang of nine friends who have been accused of covering up what happened that tragic night.

James Roberts, Lee Paul, Michael Stevens, Neil Jones, James Foy and Chris Townsend, along with Michelle Kelly, Hayley Morrisey and Danielle Phillips were all forced to give evidence at an inquest in 2008.

Coroner Andre Rebello said the suspects would “leave court under a shadow because one of them was a killer”.

Mr Byrne recalled how he saw a “shoving match” going on as he drove on to Hanover Street, with Andrew immediately surrounded by six people. He said he remembers what happened vividly.

Mr Byrne told the ECHO: “They were pushing one another backwards and forwards, then a punch came out of the middle of the group.

“He landed right by my cab. I said to myself ‘get up and hit him back’ but it never happened. He wasn’t moving.

“Another male prodded him with his foot, not kicking him as such, but as if to say ‘get up and fight’.”

Mr Byrne gave a statement to police and attended an ID parade but, like other witnesses, was unable to make a match.

Mr Roberts, then 20 and from Huyton, was charged with Andrew’s death but was acquitted by a Crown Court judge partway through his trial.

Mr Byrne spoke of his frustration that the killer has never been identified.

He said: “I always thought there would be a time when it came out but so far there’s been nothing. But I’ve got a sneaking feeling that it will come back to haunt them.

“There were a good eight of them there, they know who has done it, they must do.

“I’m just shocked that it is not done and dusted.”

Andrew’s mum Christine, 51, and dad Andrew, 49, had fought for a joint enterprise prosecution, where all the suspects would be charged as jointly responsible for his death.

But the Crown Prosecution Service said doing so would not be in the “public interest”.

Mr Byrne said: “I don’t understand why they aren’t all put in the dock, just to see what comes of it.

“Among them, they know who has done it. The answer lies within them.

“What is wrong with them all being charged? It might finally make them talk. Every time I see Andrew’s mum, she seems to be in a world of her own. She just doesn’t seem to be with it at all.

Eighteen-year-old Andrew Jones had been out celebrating a family member's birthday in Liverpool city centre on Saturday 9 March 2003.

The teenager from Walton was on his way home in the early hours of Sunday 10 March, when he was involved in an altercation with a group of people. During this argument he was punched in the face. He fell and hit his head on the ground and died from his injuries later the same day.

Ten years on his parents Christine and Andy Jones are once again appealing for witnesses to "search their consciences" and come forward.

They are particularly appealing to the group of people who were with the man who assaulted Andrew that night.

They hope that those who saw who was responsible will now feel able to come forward with information, especially as they may now have children of their own.

Parents of teenager Andrew Jones still heartbroken 11 years after his murder

Family is still no closer to justice for their beloved son

The parents of a Liverpool teenager murdered in a street attack have spoken of their heartbreak 11 years on.

Andrew Jones’s mum and dad, Andy and Christine, from Walton, speaking ahead of the anniversary of their son’s tragic death tomorrow, said despite more than a decade of fighting, they are no closer to justice – something which they find too painful to bear.

Today they appealed for anyone that could help police achieve a conviction to search their conscience and come forward with information.

Andrew, 18, had gone out in the city centre to celebrate a cousin’s birthday and was making his way home along Hanover Street at 3.15am on Sunday, March 9, 2003, when he was attacked. It is thought he accidentally bumped into one of the members of a group walking the opposite way. He was floored by a single punch, cracking his head on the pavement and died from severe head injuries the following day.

Andrew’s mum Christine, 52, said: “It’s just a nightmare. It seems like it’s going on and on and it’s never going to end. I can’t go on like this, it’s killing me and eating me alive.

“You can’t just go out on a night out and this happen. Someone has to be punished for this. If not what message is that sending out to other people?”

The Joneses have had several set backs in their fight for justice.

After a police investigation, James Roberts, then 20 and from Huyton, was charged with Andrew’s manslaughter but was acquitted by a crown court judge who ruled there was no evidence against him part way through a trial.

The gang suspected of being involved in the attack also stood before the city’s coroner Andre Rebello. But the inquest failed to say with certainty who had dealt the fatal blow.

The group of nine, who were called as witnesses, were condemned for their silence at the inquest – with Mr Rebello declaring that “one of them was a killer”.

Still no one came forward.

Christine said it particularly hurt her that some members of the group were girls who would probably have children of their own now.

The family is still pushing for a new law in Andrew’s name that would allow for the whole group to be prosecuted.

Under the 300-year-old joint enterprise law, a group can be liable for a violent crime committed by one of its members if there is a shared intent to harm. The Crown Prosecution Service claimed that Andrew’s death did not trigger that law because there was “insufficient evidence” to prove shared intent or foresight of what was to happen.

But ex-wagon driver Andy, 50, said ‘Andrew’s Law’ would allow the police to charge in cases where a group of people were standing together watching a serious assault.

Christine said: “When I saw Andrew on all those machines in hospital, I was just in deep shock. It wasn’t an accident or illness that did this, someone took his life from him.”

Andy, who no longer goes to watch Everton play because he used to go with Andrew, has put posters up around Liverpool appealing for information and uses social media to highlight their case.

Merseyside Police is offering a £10,000 reward for information leading to a successful prosecution of Andrew’s killer.

Put them all in prison for whatever the sentence would be. All to serve the whole sentence. Let them know that if the killer is identified the remainder will just serve the normal sentence for police obstruction/accessories after the fact or what crime their silence has been!